Siren Song
by Cactus Bob
Summary: Yugi starts to act strangely after he turns sixteen. What happened to make him so upset? And before Atem can find out and help him, another problem in the shape of a woman gets in the way.
1. Three Months' Tears

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Kazuki Takahashi

This story also suffered a brutal rewrite. This is another one of my best. I hope that you enjoy it as well!

* * *

Atem sat gently on Yugi's bed, careful not to disturb his partner's sleep on his birthday. It was June 4th, and Yugi was sixteen years old. Atem brushed the bangs out of Yugi's face and smiled. Yugi was the same, but so much else was different.

Yugi had gracefully (and occasionally, not so gracefully) adapted to everything that Atem had put him through. First Yugi had solved the puzzle and dealt with the blackouts and memory loss. Then, in Duelist Kingdom, he had confronted Atem during his duel with Kaiba and rejected him, worried that the spirit would hurt more of his friends. Neither of them had known Atem existed until that moment.

When they beat Pegasus, Yugi and Atem spoke personally. Yugi had called Atem "Yami," darkness. Atem lived in darkness, and everything Atem remembered was darkness. Some of that darkness had crept into Atem's soul in the millennia, and after beating Noah and then Marik at Battle City, Yugi got to see a little more of that darkness.

Atem played the Seal of Orichalcos and broke the bond between them. He harbored guilt about that incident long after it was finished. Yugi forgave him again and again, but Atem never accepted his mercy. He remembered a conversation that he and Yugi had had when they were driving to Atem's tomb in Egypt:

"_Pharaoh?" Yugi asked mentally. Yami shifted his attention off the matters on his own mind and focused on Yugi._

"_What is it, Yugi?" Yami asked. Was Yugi worried about being separated from Yami again? Or was he afraid of what Yami would remember about his past? Yami had realized that there was something evil inside of him ever since he had played the Seal of Orichalcos, something dark that Yugi's kindness could not purge out of him. If that evil had been present in his reign as pharaoh, he could not have been a good king._

"_You were a good king, I know you were," Yugi stated, reading Yami's thoughts as he always did. "Everybody has a little darkness inside of them. That doesn't mean you were evil."_

"_You, Yugi, have no darkness," Yami stated._

_Then Yami sensed something strange in Yugi's thoughts, something half-formed and malignant. Yugi was trying to hide one of his thoughts. "That's not true," Yugi said quietly, and he disappeared into the recesses of his mind._

That was the day that Atem forgave himself for the Seal. It was that day, when he realized that even his innocent little Yugi had something to hide, something to be ashamed of. Atem never knew what it was and never asked. But there were times, like now, when he wondered what could have made Yugi so uncomfortable.

Yugi stirred and opened one of his eyes. It drifted sleepily for a moment until it landed on Atem. "Mornin'," Yugi mumbled half into his pillow.

"Good morning," Atem greeted. "Happy birthday, Yugi."

Atem expected Yugi to smile, get up, perhaps try and wheedle some birthday coffee out of Grandpa. But instead, Yugi's one visible eye grew dull and sad. He turned his face into his pillow, pulled the covers over his head, and then fussed around beneath the sheets for a few moments. Then he lay still, no movement, no words.

Atem peered at him in confusion. "Yugi, it's your birthday. I thought you would be happy," Atem said. "What's wrong? Another year and no taller?"

"No!" Yugi retorted with a touch of annoyance. "I'm fine, I just want to go back to sleep." There were tears in his words. Atem was concerned.

"Yugi?" he asked. He pulled the covers off Yugi's head to look at his face. His eyes were dry, but his expression was dejected. Atem went to stroke Yugi's cheek to see if tears had hastily been brushed away. "Yugi, what is it, what's wrong?"

Atem touched him and Yugi flinched. "Please don't touch me," he said softly. He turned over in bed and pulled his covers back over his head. Atem backed out of the room. What could have been making his partner act this way on his birthday?

Yugi stumbled out of his room about an hour later. His eyes and nose were red, as if he had a cold. But Atem knew it was from crying. Yugi sat down at the kitchen table and Atem made him a cup of coffee. Yugi took it with honest gratefulness and took a sip. A small caffeine fire started in Yugi's brain, but it wasn't enough to burn off the fog of sadness.

"Yugi?" Atem asked. Yugi stared at his cup of coffee. "What happened to you today? It's your birthday. The others are going to come over and have cake and give you presents. Why are you so sad?"

"… I don't want to be sixteen," Yugi said. His voice was strained.

"Why not?" Atem asked softly.

Yugi's bottom lip quivered. "I don't want to say," he said finally.

"Do you think that I wouldn't understand?" Atem's tone was not accusatory. An accusation would have made Yugi get on the defensive, and that would possibly take Atem even farther from the information he wanted to know.

"I think you would understand," Yugi said. "But… I don't want you to know. I don't want anyone to know. I don't even want to know."

"It sounds bad," Atem observed.

"Yeah," Yugi whispered. He took another sip of his coffee.

"And this just happened today?" Atem asked, trying to seem casual. Yugi nodded. "Temporary or permanent?"

"Permanent."

"Yugi," Atem said seriously. "You need to tell me the truth. Is this something that I should know?"

"… Not yet," Yugi answered. He finished his coffee and gave Atem a fake smile. "It's—it's no big deal. I was just overreacting. Um… what did you want to do for my birthday?"

Atem stared at Yugi and his switch of demeanor. "Not yet" was better than "no", but it was not as good as if Yugi had told him outright what was going on. Atem would wait for the one day in the future when Yugi to tell him all of his secrets: this one, the one in Egypt, and all the others in between. Yugi would tell. Atem just needed to give him time.

The only problem with this plan is that Atem had no idea at how good Yugi was at keeping secrets. Atem tried to stifle a chuckle as he imagined Yugi and himself decades later, each of them looking like Grandpa, and Yugi finally admitting what he had for all that time kept to himself.

"It's your birthday, Yugi. You should decide," Atem said.

"Okay," Yugi replied with the same false cheeriness. "I'm going to go take a…" He trailed off, and the fog of melancholy returned. "Take a shower," he said finally, and trudged off to the bathroom, where whatever horrors the shower was holding were awaiting him.

* * *

Yugi sat on a bench after school was over, staring at the concrete walkway that led onto the street from Domino High. His… abnormality… had caused him some problems. Gym had started and Yugi was not there. Atem was concerned—Yugi had never missed a class before. So he went into the changing room and saw Yugi standing there, just then slipping on the bottoms of his gym clothes.

"Yugi, you're late. What's keeping you?" Atem demanded. Yugi jumped when he heard Atem's voice and spun around, wrapping his arms around his waist.

"N-nothing, nothing," Yugi said quickly. "Just a little late, that's all. I'll be out in a minute." Atem looked at him with a mixture of disbelief, sadness, and disappointment. Yugi hated that expression. But it was either that or something much worse.

What was worse than disbelief? Disgust. What was worse than sadness? Anger. What was worse than disappointment? Nothing. The disappointment would stay, the worst of the three, the worst of anything that Atem could feel towards Yugi. And the worst, Yugi knew, could not be avoided.

Yugi had only three options: run away, stay and lie, or stay and tell the truth. Inevitably, each of those decisions would end in the dreaded disappointment. Atem was not and would not be proud of him anymore. Atem could not be proud of what Yugi had become.

Yugi slumped over, the weight of his backpack pressing down on him as if it was full of iron. Tears filled his eyes, and for the first time in three months, he let them fall. He finally let all those tears pour onto the pavement. Tears of sadness, tears of self-pity, tears of hopelessness, tears of anger, each of them rolled out of him and made dark spots on the concrete. But they did not wash Yugi's feelings away. They made his throat and head hurt instead.

For three months Yugi had lied, for three months he had made an excuse to creep away and spend the night alone in the dark. For three months he had seen what he was and not cried one tear. For three months he had not sang. For three months he had made himself look away from Tea whenever she was in the room for fear of what he might do to her. Three months, three horrible months of un-fallen tears now dripped madly off his cheeks and nose and trickled down his chin.

It was at that moment, when he was sobbing without restraint, when he was wet, itchy, and cold, that Atem sat down next to him. Atem put his arm around Yugi's shoulder and pulled Yugi into his chest, where Yugi let those three months of tears finally fall and drown him when he could not drown.


	2. Challenger

Yugi must have stopped crying eventually, but he could not remember exactly when. He just remembered that Atem had helped him off the bench and walked him down the street. He must have stopped crying when this man asked Atem to duel.

Atem had told the man that he didn't have time for him now, but the man had deviously replied that he would help Yugi with his problem if Atem beat him at a game of Duel Monsters. Naturally, Atem asked what would happen if he lost. The man had only replied that Atem and Yugi would then help him with his problem.

Atem, utterly confident in his dueling abilities, had accepted this man's challenge. Even if the challenger could not help Yugi, Atem would beat this man dressed like an undead ninja in just a few minutes, and then Yugi would be happy that Atem had tried to be of assistance.

But things were going terribly wrong with Atem's plan. This man was much better than Atem had expected. Atem was going to lose. Atem stood shocked as he realized that he had no monsters, no face down cards, and a Battle Ox staring him in the face.

The man called out his attack, and Atem screamed as simulated pain coursed through his body. He fell to the ground, panting. What had he done? Instead of helping Yugi with his problem, whatever it was, Atem had made it exponentially worse.

Yugi rushed over to Atem's side. "Atem, are you alright?" he asked. He cared about Atem even though Atem had betrayed Yugi when he needed Atem most. The eyes that had just been filled with tears an hour ago were now looking at Atem with concern.

The man walked up to them, plucking what looked like a silver orb out of his tattered rags. Atem stood up defiantly, holding Yugi's hand. "What is the price we have to pay?" Atem demanded. "What do you want from us now that I have lost?"

"Three tasks' service for my lady is all that I ask," the man said, suddenly bowing humbly. "She _is _waiting, so, if I may ask, shall we depart with all haste?"

Atem took a confused step back, raising his eyebrows at the man's new attitude. "What exactly are your 'lady's' three tasks?" he asked. "And why did she choose to torment us now?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I do not know," the man said. "Sir, if you will." The man held out the silver orb. "Touch it. You will be transported directly to my lady's castle."

Then Yugi realized who this lady must have been. This was the woman Yugi had been fighting most of his life to avoid, the woman who had caused his trouble. Now she was after Atem too, and since Atem had lost on a fair bet, they were forced to go to her castle and complete three tasks for her.

Yugi would not blame Atem. Atem had dueled with the man to help him. Atem would not have done it if he hadn't thought he would win. This was Yugi's fault. Iris wouldn't have wanted them if not for Yugi, her favorite. Yugi was not surprised at her perfect timing, her flawless manipulation of them both.

Atem squeezed Yugi's hand, and they looked at each other. They had to go, they both knew. So they stretched out their hands and touched the silver orb.

Darkness covered their eyes. When the veil was lifted, Atem and Yugi found themselves sitting in what seemed to be a fancy, Cinderella-esque carriage. The carriage lurched suddenly, telling the boys that they were moving forward.

Atem looked out the window to see where they were and where they were headed. It was impossible to tell. The scenery was pristine and beautiful, but it was completely devoid of any buildings besides a small cabin and a large, onyx castle.

Yugi sunk down into his seat. Atem sighed and looked at him. They were seated on opposite sides, facing each other. "Yugi, I'm so sorry," Atem said. "I should never have dueled with that man; I should have taken you home and helped you on my own. All I did was get us into more trouble."

"It's fine, Atem, it's not your fault," Yugi said quietly. "You were trying your best."

"I hate to think that I lost my only opportunity to help you," Atem said. "Yugi… please tell me what's going on."

They stopped in front of the castle. Yugi took this moment to escape from the carriage and from the conversation. Atem chased after him. "Yugi, I have waited for you to be ready to tell me your secrets. I have waited for a long time." Atem grabbed Yugi's arm. "I have waited too long. Tell me the truth. I can help you."

"I think you'll find out soon enough," Yugi said. He took his arm back and walked into the castle, the bandaged man ushering him in servilely. Atem walked in after him, feeling frustrated. What did Yugi mean, "You'll find out soon enough"?

They walked up a long set of stairs to a room which seemed to be at the very top of the castle. They saw paintings and sculptures of mermaids everywhere. Some of the sea-ladies were depicted as playful and innocent. Others looked more menacing.

The man stood at a large wooden door, cocked his ear as if listening to something, and then opened the door wide, bowing as Atem and Yugi walked in. A woman was bent over a large book in her lap. She sat on a comfortable white couch amidst a room filled with splendor. There were gold chandeliers, stained-glass windows, Arabian pillows and rugs, bronze sconces, and even more mermaid paintings. As they entered, the woman looked up at them.

Atem noticed that this woman was extremely and hatefully beautiful. She had flaming red hair that reached her ankles. Her eyes were so dark they looked black. Her skin was so pale it looked like it had never seen sun, but it contrasted perfectly with her brilliant hair and her pale green dress. A gold heart-shaped pendant hung at her white breast.

She smiled when she saw them. She got up, looming over both of the vertically-challenged boys, and walked forward lightly on her small, bare feet while hiking up her flowing skirt. "My dear, sweet children," she said lovingly, "welcome to my home."

"Save it," Atem seethed. "We have better things to do, so give us our tasks so that we can be done with them and leave this place."

She frowned. "Are you so eager to get back to a painful life, Atem?" she asked. Her voice lost the saccharine geniality that had annoyed Atem so much.

"It was much less painful before we met you," Atem retorted.

She chuckled. "I'm sure everyone I've met can say the same. But if you wanted to find the reason for Yugi's tears, there is no better place than here."

Yugi looked down. He knew that this moment would come. He knew that Atem would find out. He knew that after Iris had her say, Atem would look at him much differently. Atem took the bait. "What do you know about that?" he demanded.

"The reason for Yugi's tears," she said, "is me. I was the one who made Yugi so sad. I was the one who tortured his spirit. But you were the one who did not notice." Yugi saw the anger grow in Atem. "Has Yugi ever told you what happened on his sixteenth birthday?" she continued, smiling evilly.

Atem faltered. "No," he admitted.

She turned to Yugi. "Would you like to tell them, or shall I?" she asked. She laughed. "Of course, I'll let you tell him, little Yugi. You two can have a nice long chat."

She turned to the bandaged man. "Ledrius, take Yugi and Atem to their rooms. I shall give them their first task on Saturday morning."

"As you wish, Lady Iris," Ledrius said, bowing. Iris waved the boys goodbye and returned to her book. Yugi and Atem followed Ledrius to another room which seemed all bed, for the floor was covered with blankets and pillows of rich red and gold fabrics.

Yugi walked in and sat heavily on the ground. He clutched a silk pillow and petted the tassels, waiting for the conversation to come. Atem sat down across from him. Ledrius shut and locked the bedroom door, cutting off any chance Yugi had to escape from the truth. Maybe he had tried to run away from Atem for too long. Maybe it would be better to just admit it and get it over with.

"Iris says that it's her fault that you have suffered," Atem began. "She admits it freely and even encourages you to talk to me about it, which means that she either doesn't believe that I will fight for you after you tell me the truth, or she believes that I won't be able to fight for you at all. You seem to agree with the former."

"I never said that," Yugi contradicted, even though it was true.

"Then why haven't you told me?" Atem asked.

Yugi sighed. "My parents and I used to live in the little cabin out by the lake. We were slaves here, like Ledrius, because my family was so poor that we couldn't afford to live anywhere on our own. One day, Iris asked my father to do something, something terrible. I don't even remember what it was. But when he refused to do it, Iris got really angry, and she took me away from them and banished them from the island."

Yugi's eyes began to glisten with tears, and his voice failed him for a moment. "She… She would l-lock me up in the basement and come down every day with some food and a book full of spells. She used to tell me that I was her favorite, that I was the best… best candidate she had ever…" Yugi swallowed with difficulty. "She was trying to be the first magician to ever conduct a successful… human transmutation…" Yugi clutched his pillow and looked down at his knees. Atem realized the truth. Yugi had not kept this from him because he did not trust Atem. He had kept his secret because he did not believe that anyone could be less ashamed of him than he himself was.

"Yugi," Atem breathed. Yugi looked up at him, wondering if he would react the way that Yugi expected or do the opposite as Yugi desperately hoped. "It's alright," Atem said, grabbing Yugi's hand. "It will be alright, I promise. I will help you."

Yugi hiccupped like a man drunk on his own relief. "You mean… you don't…?"

"Of course I don't," Atem assured him. "But you must tell me everything, and don't be ashamed. If I am to help you, I need to know all the information that I can. At what age did Iris begin and complete the transmutation process?"

"She started when I was six, and finished when I was nine," Yugi said.

Atem frowned. "Three years, and at a young age. That will make it more difficult. But if it takes me nine years, I will reverse the transmutation." Yugi nodded, feeling less dejected after seeing Atem's determination. Yugi knew that if Atem put his mind to something, he could do it, whatever it was. "Now, what exactly did you transmutate into?"

Yugi sat up and lifted up the bottom of his shirt. Two sets of gill flapped idly on his ribs, the only remnant of his real body in his human form. "A siren," Atem stated. "This explains your sixteenth birthday. Sirens do not come into their true nature until sixteen years of age."

Yugi plopped back down onto the plushy layers of rugs. "You know about sirens?" he asked.

"I do," Atem answered. "Sirens… have traditionally been villains in human history. They can manipulate human emotions through their song. Sirens used this gift to lure men and women into the sea to drown, where the sirens would proceed to… eat them."

Yugi looked horrified. "Eat them?" he repeated. Atem chuckled.

"It's good to know that you haven't had any cravings for human flesh," Atem said. "Have you learned how to control your voice?"

"I've learned not to sing," Yugi answered. "I knew that much about myself, at least."

"I understand," Atem said softly. "And I understand why you didn't tell me. But none of us are completely clean through and through, and it's alright to admit that." Yugi nodded his comprehension. "Now, is there anything else that you want to tell me?"

"No, that's it," Yugi said.

Atem peered playfully at him. "Are you sure?" he asked. Yugi giggled.

"Yes, I'm sure," Yugi answered.

"Are you sure that you're sure?" Atem asked, grinning. He caught Yugi in a hug and they both laughed. "You're my best friend, Yugi. Scales and gills aren't going to change that."


	3. Moonlight Scales Beautiful

For the fourth time, a platter of food was hastily shoved into Yugi and Atem's bedroom door before the door was slammed shut. Atem sighed and held his forehead. He had been in that room so long without a break that he wondered if Saturday would ever come. Of course, they had only been in there for about a day, but the minutes passed by like hours, and the hours like years.

Yugi had been staring out of the window since he woke up, pausing only to eat the meals tossed into their room three times a day. Atem stood up only to stretch out his legs and then collapsed back onto the plushy ground next to the food. Yugi did not budge. He had been getting progressively tenser as the sun had gotten lower and redder.

"Are you going to eat dinner?" Atem asked. "It's here."

Yugi fussed with his pillow and turned to him. "Atem, tonight is full moon," he stated. Atem then knew the reason for his tenseness. Sirens, like werewolves, were forced to take their true form every night of the full moon. At least three moons had passed since Yugi's birthday. Atem wondered how he could not have realized that Yugi's absence was so periodic.

But if Iris didn't let them out of this room before the sun set, Yugi would asphyxiate. He would have to go down to the lake, and quickly, for the sun had already reached the tops of the mountains in the distance.

Atem stood up to see what he could do about the door, but as soon as he got to his feet the door miraculously opened. Ledrius was standing behind it, and he bowed slightly at the waist. "My lady says that your door shall remain open for the duration of this evening and Saturday morning. But she would like to specify that any attempts to escape will be met with less kindness than this in the future."

Yugi quickly left his spot near the window and dashed out of the door. Atem hurried after him and followed Yugi to the lake outside. Yugi paused at the end of the dock. "Why did you come with me?" Yugi asked. "It's not as if you're the one who's going to… well."

"If you're going to ask me to stay in that room for another minute, you and I are going to have an argument," Atem said, crossing his arms to convey his unchangeable resolve. Yugi timidly took off his jacket and shirt and dove into the water. He remained below for a few minutes and then popped up as the sun set below the island's hills.

Yugi now had all the features of a siren. His skin was even paler than it had been before and it seemed to glow in the weak moonlight. The whites of his eyes were almost invisible, since the iris and the pupil had grown so large to let in light in the darkness of deep water. His teeth were sharp and pointed—the better to eat humans with—and his fingers were laced with translucent webbing.

Yugi brushed his wet bangs out of his face and smiled timidly, showing his small fangs. He started to speak, but all that came out were sounds similar to that of a whale. His throat could not form human speech. So he started making signs with his hands.

Unfortunately, one of the only games that Atem wasn't good at was charades, so it took them a while to get Atem to understand what Yugi was trying to say. "I'm going to go underwater to sleep" was what Atem finally understood.

"Alright," Atem said. "Go to sleep. Your transformation may have tired you. I will… go back upstairs… and wait for you to return."

Yugi waved goodbye and dove down into the water, his silvery-white tail making small splashes. Atem turned and walked across the damp grass back toward the castle. Yugi was a siren. He even wore a siren's form now. And he had worn it so many times thinking that he was alone. Atem wondered how different it was for him now that he knew that he didn't have to hide.

But it still didn't change the fact that Yugi was the result of an immoral experiment. He had been taken from his home and from his parents and transformed into something terrible. Iris was not able to change his heart, however. Yugi was as kind as any human could be.

Yugi now clung to the hope that Atem could find a way to change him back into a human. Then he could live the life he once did. Then he could change in gym and sing in the shower. Then he could be safe at home on the night of full moon. But what if Atem could never change him back? What if Atem was not strong enough of a magician to undo what had taken Iris three years and probably decades of study? Would Yugi be able to live with being what he was for the rest of his life?

Atem hoped that he would not disappoint Yugi. Atem hoped that it would not take him so long that Yugi would lose his optimism and give up. Atem hoped that one day, he would be able to give Yugi what he had lost so long ago—the chance to live with the knowledge that he wasn't just an experiment.

* * *

"Gentlemen, your first task," Ledrius said, sweeping into the room with grandeur. He looked around and noticed that only Atem was sitting on the ground, so the plural was not applicable. "I see your friend has not yet returned," Ledrius observed, seeming a bit depressed.

"That's right," Atem replied, almost gloating over Iris's servant's disappointment.

Ledrius sighed. "He was always a late sleeper. I shall return when he arrives." Ledrius bowed and made to leave, but Atem stopped him.

"You knew Yugi when he was a child?" Atem asked. Ledrius nodded.

"I remember him first when his parents lived here," Ledrius began. "He was only three or four years old, but he would toddle around the castle and the lake and ask the meanings of things. I ensured that he got into no harm."

"Was he much like he is today?" Atem asked.

"Like most young children, he lacked the timidity that comes with age and negative experience," Ledrius replied. "He soon gained it. When his parents were banished, he became extremely quiet and reclusive. He stayed in his room for six months and didn't speak a word to me or to any of the other servants, and I don't believe that he said another word for the rest of his stay with us."

"How did he come to leave?"

Ledrius sighed. "Do you see the bandages on my arms and torso?" he asked. The wrappings were dirty, drooping, and disordered, but they did cover his skin. "When Yugi at last became a siren, Iris intended to keep Yugi under surveillance to see how dramatically he changed—if he would develop the sirens' craving for human flesh, for example. But… I had watched over the boy every day for the last six years, and I had seen him in his darkest moments. My mistress is cruel. I freed Yugi so that he could live all the life he could live before he turned sixteen, when he would fully manifest. These bandages cover my punishment."

"You freed him?" Atem inquired.

"Yes, my lord," Ledrius answered.

"Then I owe our friendship to you, Ledrius, and you have no idea how much that means to me and to the entire world," Atem said. He got up and shook Ledrius's hands. "I hate to think that you suffered so much for that. Thank you."

"It saddens me to see him return," Ledrius admitted. "And it saddens me further to know that you had to come with him. I hope that one of you will know how to surmount the great task that my mistress has given you."

Ledrius bowed and walked out of the room. Atem, too, left the room and walked down to the lake. The sun had been up for quite some time, yet Yugi had not returned. He had to be down in those murky depths somewhere. Could he be sleeping still? Atem wouldn't put that past him. Could he be lingering underneath the water, reluctant to face Atem after he had seen Yugi's true form? That would be strange, considering that Atem had reacted well, but it wasn't impossible.

Atem decided to test his remembrance of magic. He touched a finger to the surface of the lake and reached into his shadow power. Then he sent a pulse of energy into the water. If Yugi wasn't already awake, he was now.

Just as Atem thought, Yugi poked his head out of the water in a few moments. Atem waved at him, and Yugi waved back cheerfully. Atem was glad to see Yugi in a happy mood as Yugi swam up to the deck, pushed himself up onto the deck, and transformed back into a human.

"Morning," Yugi said as soon as he could speak.

"It's closer to afternoon," Atem chided. "How can you sleep for so long in such a place?"

Yugi hesitated. "I wasn't sleeping," he admitted. "I was looking for something."

Atem peered at him. "Did you find it?" he asked finally. Yugi held out his hand and revealed a mud-covered necklace, once gold but turned black and green by years of being submerged.

"It… it was my mom's," Yugi explained. "My dad gave it to her when he proposed. I remembered that when Iris exiled my parents from the island, she threw the necklace into the lake. I figured that I should try and find it while I could." He tucked the pendant, mud and all, into his pocket. "Iris has another just like it. My mom was always angry about that."

Atem nodded. "Iris has a new task for us," he said. They began to walk across the dewy grass back to the castle. When they arrived back in the gigantic entry room, Ledrius was waiting patiently for them, his head bowed.

"Welcome back, Yugi," Ledrius said warmly. Yugi smiled at him. "I am sure that you want to hear your first task. Iris instructs you to steal the Pendulum from the Void in which it is held and return it to her as soon as you can."

Any small smile that Atem wore on his face quickly faded. Yugi just looked confused. "She wants us to steal the Pendulum?" Atem repeated incredulously.

"That's correct, sir," Ledrius answered. He had a look of pity for them.

"You—you can't steal the Pendulum, Ledrius. Voids are impregnable," Atem said. "Why would Iris give us an impossible task?" It was a pointless question—Atem knew why. Iris wanted to keep Yugi here so that she could continue the experiments that Ledrius had stopped.

"What are you talking about? What's a Void?" Yugi asked.

"A Void is… the space between space," Atem answered vaguely. He sighed as Yugi stared blankly at him. "It's somewhat difficult to explain. A Void is technically a nowhere. It isn't a place, but it is. It's what a person passes through when he travels from one realm to another."

"So… when Marik and Pegasus took us to the Shadow Realm, we passed through a Void?" Yugi asked.

"That's right," Atem replied. "But you didn't notice anything, of course, because there was technically nothing to notice. That's what makes a Void impregnable. It is a realm that takes up no space, has no placement. It is invisible and intangible. The Pendulum was put into a Void because of its immense time-controlling power. The knowledge of how the old sorcerers locked it away is long lost by now, however."

"Then… how are we going to finish Iris's task?" Yugi asked.

"I don't know, Yugi," Atem said quietly. "I don't know."


	4. Nothing

Yugi stared at Atem, and Atem stared at his book. Iris had given the two of them free access to her library so that they could research their way into the Void. She must have been confident that they would fail.

Little did Iris realize that Atem was spending only about half of his time in the library looking up Voids. The other half was spent memorizing every text on human transmutation that Iris possessed. Yugi was infinitely grateful for Atem's determination, but he was also sad that he couldn't help with either of their problems. Yugi, though he had grown up surrounded by it, knew nothing about magic.

Atem sighed and snapped his book shut. Nothing useful in that volume, it seemed. He stood up and got another gigantic tome from the bookshelves and then plopped back into his seat with a growing air of hopelessness surrounding him.

Yugi got bored, so he decided to look up sirens to see what his race was all about. He searched under "S" until he found an old, thick book on the subject that had a worn cover and a broken spine. He returned to his seat and skimmed the pages.

It was just as Atem had said: Humans hated sirens, and for good reason. Female sirens would perch on rocks in the middle of the sea and call to sailors as they crossed the ocean. Male sirens would lurk at the edge of the shore and sing alluringly to any women who happened to be alone on the beach.

Once the human was in the water, the siren would hold them as if comforting them, and then the siren would descend under the water until the human willingly drowned. Then the entire school of sirens would feast on the corpse while it still had warmth.

Yugi shuddered as he read the passage. He wouldn't want to do anything like that to anyone. He skipped over the rest and finally came to siren anatomy.

Siren's tails were about twice as long as their torso and they were slender and tapered, ending in a flared, transparent fin. They usually had a silver or white color, but that color changed with the siren's mood. They had fangs and finger webbing and enormous pupils—all of this Yugi already knew. Was there anything in this book that was useful?

The song of the siren had a number of different effects. It could give a human a euphoric, sleepy feeling, a strong lust, or a great pain in the ears. It was also used to call sirens together to feed after a kill. Yugi had realized that his song was dangerous when he had started to hum while walking to school and had nearly knocked the passersby unconscious.

As far as the lust was concerned, Yugi had, despite all his innocence, actually considered using it on Tea, his source of unrequited love. His moral compass had steered him away from this possibility, thankfully.

But really, his voice was useless to him. He wasn't going to be lulling anyone to sleep or luring them to their watery death. He wasn't going to burst their eardrums. He was still just Yugi, but with a few worthless new abilities and gills that only served to annoy him.

Yugi wondered at first if he would become like the sirens of the sea—nothing but a monster. He worried nonstop for weeks on end, barely sleeping or eating for fear that he would one day be the cause of the death of one of his friends. But after two full moons had gone by, he stopped fretting and just started trying to ignore the fact that he was a siren.

But thanks to his monthly visits to the sea, ignorance wasn't going to be possible. On the third full moon, Yugi did nothing but heave sobs of self-pity all night long, although he couldn't cry true tears in that form. He hated his tail, he hated his fins, he hated his fangs, and he hated his gills most of all, the things that stayed with him every moment of every day, plaguing him and reminding him that he would never again be a normal boy.

The pressure of keeping the secret from his friends did not help. As summer rolled by, he had to refuse every time they invited him down to the beach. He couldn't sing along with Tea as she listened to her MP3 player. He lied every time full moon came along so that he could escape to the water without suspicion.

But now that Atem knew, things had improved. Yugi wouldn't have to lie to him or hide from him or pretend to be happy when he was ready to burst into tears. Atem accepted Yugi completely and even tried to find a way to return him to a human form. It took a strong and special person to do something like that for a monster.

Atem closed his new book and held his head. The search obviously wasn't going well. What would Grandpa and the others think if they never came back? When would Iris take Yugi away to finish what she started? Atem got up and set this book back on the shelf and willed himself to think of the consequences of his failure as he selected a new one.

"You all right?" Yugi asked. He put the book on sirens away; he had learned everything that he really wanted to know.

"I'm fine, Yugi," Atem answered. "But my search has led nowhere so far. It seems that none of these so-called _renowned_ magicians know anything more about Voids than we do."

"You said that you pass through a Void when you go from realm to another, right?" Yugi asked. He had an idea, but he didn't know if it would make any sense at all. "Well, if you could… stop the spell right before you got to the other realm, you'd be in a Void, wouldn't you? And then when you wanted to leave, you would just complete the spell that you started in the first place."

Atem's eyes glazed over slightly as he processed what Yugi said. "Yugi, you're a genius!" he exclaimed suddenly. "You're exactly right! All of this time it was so obvious, and all of my magical training just got in the way."

Atem bounded off the chair and began scribbling something on a piece of scrap paper. He read it, and then he re-read it. "Alright, this should work," he said finally. "This is an incantation for transport to the Shadow Realm. Without a Millennium object, it's much more complicated, you see. I'll stop it… here." He pointed to a line on the paper. "And then continue it when we're ready to leave."

"Atem," Yugi began, smiling at Atem's sudden enthusiasm. "Do you even know what a Void is like? We could be walking into, you know, nothing. Or we could be walking into something we can't handle. What if something happens before you can finish the incantation?"

Atem sighed, slightly deflated. "What other choice do we have, Yugi?" he asked. He extended his hand, and Yugi took it. Atem began to mutter in a strange language, and then he stopped all at once, seemingly mid-word. Suddenly Yugi thought he had gone blind, because everything turned black in front of his open eyes.

But just seconds later, Yugi reappeared, alone, in the middle of what looked like outer space. But how could he be standing on space? He looked down at his feet. The stars beneath him were shifting, but the stars about him were still. It was nothing more than a reflection of the night sky. Then Yugi realized that he wasn't standing in space—he was standing on the ocean. It was a bit less strange, but strange nonetheless.

Yugi looked around for Atem, but he was nowhere to be found. Had Atem accidentally traveled all the way to the Shadow Realm? Or—and at this, Yugi gulped—had he traveled to a different Void entirely? If that had happened, Yugi would never be able to leave! And it would take Atem ages to find the particular Void that Yugi was in.

And if there was more than one Void, that would make it nearly impossible to locate the Pendulum anyway. Yugi tried to clear his head and think rationally, but panic kept pushing its way back into his consciousness. What was he going to do?

"You don't need him," a voice said in Yugi's mind. It was so quiet, so subtle that it might have been Yugi himself thinking it. "Stay here and be at peace for once in your life. An outcast such as yourself does not belong in the outside world, but you can live happily here with me."

"Who are you?" Yugi asked aloud. His voice sounded painfully loud in the empty and endless expanse.

"I am a friend who wishes the best for you," the voice said. "I know how sad you've been. I know that you've never felt completely and truly happy for a single moment in your life. First you were a slave, and then you were an orphan, and then you were an experiment. What are you now? An evil creature? That's what they think. They will hunt you down or drive you away because they believe that you will hurt them."

"No, they won't," Yugi argued. "Atem's my best friend. He wouldn't hurt me."

"He has hurt you before," the voice replied menacingly. "He knew the Seal was evil, yet he still sacrificed your safety to win. Don't you think that he would do it again now that he has an even stronger motive?"

"H-he accepted me," Yugi stammered desperately. "H-he knows that I'm not a monster."

"He knows as much as you did when you first manifested. You're safe, he thinks… for now. He doesn't know what you're capable of. He doesn't know what you'll become. And who knows? Maybe, one day, you'll slip. Maybe you'll do something as innocent as sing along to a song on the radio, and he'll think that you mean him harm. He will stop trusting you, and all of the confidence that you worked so hard and so long to build will shatter in an instant."

"No, that's not true!" Yugi yelled into thin air. "He… he would understand!"

"You will return to your life and live like a shadow, Yugi," the voice hissed. "Always feeling as though you can't be yourself, you will have to monitor everything you do every second of every day for the rest of your life. You will be a pariah, never knowing true love because you fit in nowhere. If you return to your old life, you will grow to hate yourself and hate the world, and then you will hate the humans you returned for. You cannot deny your true nature, Yugi."

"I… could n-never… hate my friends," Yugi said, fighting sadly for what he hoped to be truth.

"But you have already felt a little of it. This I know. The anger has already started to bloom out of the fear. You know that this is possible. One way or another, your return to earth will end in tragedy."

Yugi fell to his knees, a few tears trickling down his cheek. "But I don't want to be alone," he whispered.

"Stay here with me, and I will love you much more than Atem ever could," the voice said soothingly. "You won't have to worry about what you are or what you do. I will love you no matter what. Sink into the darkness of the ocean, Yugi. Sink deep into the shadow and stay with me forever."

Yugi felt the water under him start to soften. He began to descend into the sea an inch at a time. The voice waited for his response. "O-okay," Yugi answered quietly. And he fell beneath the waves, no stars, no light. There was nothing but darkness.


	5. Light in Darkness

When Atem arrived in the Void, he realized with horror that Yugi was not with him. How could this have happened? They were holding each other's hands! That should have been enough to keep them together when they transported.

If Yugi wasn't here, he had to be someplace else. But it would have been easy to find him considering that this place was nothing but an expanse of water and sky. It was dark, yes, but Yugi's skin would have practically luminesced in even the pale starlight.

There was a possibility that there was more than one Void in existence, but Yugi would not have traveled to another because they had both been on their way to the Shadow Realm. That meant that Yugi had to be here… somewhere.

"Yugi!" Atem called. "Yugi, are you there?"

"He ran away from you," a voice whispered in his ear.

Atem spun around, looking for the voice's source. "Who are you, and what do you mean?"

"Yugi, finding himself here all alone, believed that you abandoned him and left him to die alone in the Void. He doesn't trust you," the voice said. "So he ran."

"You lie," Atem growled. "Yugi trusts me far more than I deserve. He would not run away."

"Does he trust you?" the voice asked. "He lied to you for three months because he didn't trust you to love him when you knew the truth about him. What makes you think that that has changed?"

"Because when he told me, I made it clear that I was perfectly fine with what he was," Atem argued. "And besides that, he lied to me not because he didn't trust me, but because he was ashamed of what he had become."

"You once shared everything with each other, even your deepest thoughts," the voice continued. "You lost that intimacy when you received separate bodies. You two are not as close as you once were."

"You are sadly mistaken," Atem said smugly. "We have not grown farther apart. If anything, we have grown closer, because I can develop a life of my own to share completely with him. Now tell me, where is Yugi?"

The voice was momentarily silent. "Yugi is fallen," it answered simply.

Atem tried to conceal his panic. "What are you saying?" he demanded.

"I did not lie. He would rather sink forever into darkness than spend his life with you."

"You tricked him," Atem seethed. "You lied to him and convinced him of something that was not true. Where is Yugi? Tell me!"

"Yugi does not want to come back."

"He does. He does want to return to the world and the life that he knows. He wants to be in the light and the day. He wants to go to the beach with his friends. I swore to help him regain his normal life."

"You speak of a normal life, but it is a life that he has never known," the voice replied. "He has always been a siren in his mind. He has always been different. How can he want something that he has never known?"

"It happens all the time," Atem said. "We humans very often want what we do not know. I know that he wants to be human again, and I will work my hardest to help him. He knows this. Now stop poisoning his mind and tell me where he is!"

And when Atem actually needed it, the voice was gone. Atem shouted in rage and frustration and sank down onto the starry, solid water beneath him. "Yugi, please come back," Atem said softly. "I promise, we will find a way to make this right."

* * *

Yugi sat apathetically on the bottom of the sea. He hadn't even bothered to transform. There was nothing to see, because there was nothing but darkness. There was nothing to do on the bottom of the ocean. So he sat there. But he didn't have the heart to return to the surface to try to find Atem when he knew that it would just end in pain and suffering.

It was really quiet. At first, Yugi considered humming, but then he remembered that he was a siren now and couldn't sing. But then he remembered that there was no one here to listen to him, so he began to hum freely. It filled the silence for a while, but then it became empty and meaningless.

Down here, he could sing, but there would be nothing to sing about. Down here, he could transform, but there was nowhere to swim to. He could do anything he wanted to here—if it had a point. But sitting here in the dark ocean wasn't doing anything for anyone, not even for him. Nothing was boring. And that boredom gave way to frustration, all in just an hour or so. Time traveled like a snail when there was nothing to do, giving a person plenty of opportunity to think.

Then a voice rang through the water as clearly as if Yugi had been standing right next to the speaker. It was not quiet like the whispering voice from earlier. It was deep, loud, and angry. "You tricked him," the man above said. "You lied to him and convinced him of something that was not true. Where is Yugi? Tell me!"

That was Atem! Atem was looking for him. Yugi had to assume that the voice was talking to him, trying to deter him from continuing his search. Yugi kicked himself off the ocean floor and swam toward the surface. Atem was right. The voice had tricked him into thinking that this life was much, much more than it really was. Yugi would take anything, even tragedy, over nothing.

Atem and the voice continued their argument. Suddenly, almost as soon as Yugi reached the air, the argument stopped. Yugi waited and listened to see what happened next. He heard Atem demand Yugi's location, scream in anger when he got no response, and sadly ask Yugi to come back.

Yugi tried to push through the surface of the water, but he was met with resistance. The water was still solid. Yugi fought against the barrier with growing vexation until he finally transformed, gave a powerful kick with his tail, and drove his arm through the water into the air.

Almost immediately, Atem gasped and fell into the water. Yugi stared at him, trying to suppress musical giggles as Atem treaded water and gaped wide-eyed at Yugi. "You were here all along?" Atem asked. There were tones of surprise and anger in his voice that served as a quick cure for Yugi's laughter. "Yugi, what on earth were you doing? I was looking for you!"

Yugi hastily transformed back into a human form so that he could speak. "Atem, I didn't know," he explained. "I got here before you did—like hours before you did. I didn't know where you were."

"Please don't tell me that you really thought I would leave you here," Atem begged. Yugi shook his head, although he had thought other degrading things. Atem sighed in relief. "That's good. It seems the voice spoke nothing but lies." Yugi hoped desperately that that was true.

"Do you think the Pendulum is here?" Yugi asked.

"It's difficult to say," Atem answered. "There doesn't appear to be anything above water… but below…" He looked at Yugi. "Did you see anything out of the ordinary while you were down there?"

"No, I mean, I don't think so," Yugi replied. "It's really dark down there."

"Here," Atem said. He swam forward and cupped his hands together. He closed his hands and muttered something under his breath. He seemed to struggle for a moment, but when he opened his hands there was a glowing light between them. He handed the light to Yugi, who took it timidly. "Light magic is a bit difficult for shadow magicians, but this should help you search," he explained. "I'm only sorry that I can't be by your side."

"I don't want that. I don't think you want that," Yugi said. He transformed into a siren once more and dove back into the water, splashing Atem mercilessly in the process. The light that Atem had summoned was too bright for Yugi's sensitive eyes, but the darkness was too strong for them.

He drifted through the water, looking around earnestly for anything "out of the ordinary". Really, Yugi had no idea what the Pendulum even looked like. Did it look like a miniature grandfather clock or a metronome? Was it big or small? What color was it? Yugi had no idea.

Yugi swam down into a crevasse in the sea bottom and saw something flash with the reflection of his little light. He hurried in its direction. There was something half-buried in the silt on the ground. Yugi picked it up and even he felt its power. It looked like nothing more than an old alarm clock.

Yugi returned to Atem, brandishing the Pendulum happily. "You found it!" Atem exclaimed. "Great job, Yugi." Yugi, once again, transformed back into his human self.

"I guess that being a siren has some benefits," he said sheepishly. Atem, now tired from having treaded water all that time, extended his hand. "Are we going to come in separately again?" Yugi asked. "You know I'm not that strong in the Shadow Realm."

"I'm going to reverse the transportation," Atem explained. "So we will come in separately, but this time we'll be back at the castle." Yugi nodded, and he clutched the Pendulum as Atem once again said the strange incantation for teleportation.

The starry world faded, and Yugi found himself back in the castle. But this time he was still holding Atem's hand. Yugi looked confusedly at his traveling companion. "It must be the Pendulum," Atem mused. "Its time-manipulation abilities must have offset the effects of joint teleportation."

Almost immediately, Iris walked into the library and extended her hand greedily. "Give the Pendulum to me," she demanded. Yugi placed it in her palm and she wrapped her long, pale fingers around it. "You have done a… good job," she said at length. She sounded pained—her plans were ruined. "I shall give you your next task tomorrow morning."

She stormed off, her fiery hair bouncing with her barely restrained aggravation. Yugi and Atem turned to each other, smiling, and took each other in a fierce hug. They had outwitted Iris for first time, and they would make sure that it wouldn't be the last.


	6. Lust

Atem was the first to wake on Monday morning. He chuckled softly as he realized that the weight stretched across his back was nothing other than Yugi. Atem lifted himself onto all fours and Yugi went with him, now hanging limply off his posterior. He managed to maneuver Yugi off his rear end without waking the boy up, and he sat and thought for a minute.

Atem and Yugi's access to the library had been cut off since they had returned successfully with the Pendulum. It must have been Iris's idea of a punishment. Atem knew that Iris was aware of Atem's research and how he was trying to change Yugi back. If she could stop him from reading more about human transmutation, that would slow Atem's progress substantially, she thought.

But Atem had gotten nowhere with his research anyway. Like with the Void, no one knew more about the subject than he did. No one except Iris herself. Maybe the only person who had unlocked the secret of that despicable art was she. She had experimented on Yugi mercilessly for three years before she had that knowledge—how was Atem supposed to counteract it when he had no equipment, comparatively little experience, and another life to maintain? He hated to disappoint Yugi, but a part of him believed that he would never be able to change his partner back.

That didn't mean that he wasn't going to try his hardest, of course. He would never give up on Yugi, never. Atem once again imagined himself and Yugi as old, Grandpa-shaped men, finally changing Yugi back to his human self.

Yugi stirred on the plushy ground. His shirt rode up on his abdomen and revealed his gills, which were flapping in time with Yugi's deep and rhythmic breathing. Atem remembered the morning of Yugi's birthday, when Yugi had woken up so strangely. Yugi had felt for his gills and found them, and then all this had begun. It must have frightened him so much, Atem thought. Atem was sad that he could not have been there for Yugi on what must have been one of the hardest days of his life.

Ledrius suddenly burst into the room, panting and disheveled. Yugi sat up immediately, instinctually pulling his shirt down so that his gills would not be seen. "Your task, gentlemen," Ledrius said. "You are to sail to Hayden Island and retrieve a snowflower. Your ship will be ready momentarily." He dashed back out of the room without another word.

Yugi stared groggily at the now closed door. "What?" he asked.

"It's our second task, Yugi," Atem explained gently. "We're supposed to sail to a place called Hayden Island and get a snowflower."

"We're going flower picking?" Yugi asked. "That doesn't sound so bad."

"Not in theory, but I doubt that Iris would give us an easy task after yesterday," Atem said. "We should be prepared for anything."

They shook the sleep out of their heads and followed Ledrius across the grounds for thirty minutes before they arrived at an impressive sailing ship floating at the edge of the island. Muscular men were hauling cargo onto the boat. "Iris's servants are trading our island's natural resources for my lady's magical supplies. They will drop you off at Hayden Island on their way to Illystra."

Atem and Yugi walked on board and took a seat on the deck. "I've never heard of any of these places before," Atem stated. "Where are we?"

Yugi shrugged. "I never learned any geography while I was here. When Ledrius teleported me off the island, I just showed up in Domino without any idea of where my home was on the map. I don't even know the name of this place."

At the cry of the captain, the ship set sail to the north. They travelled for a few hours, and the weather got extremely cold extremely fast. Atem found himself staring at his breath. He, having grown up in swelteringly hot Egypt, was not good with cold. Yugi was leaning casually against the side of the ship without even the slightest shiver, but Atem was shaking violently in the frigid air.

Thoughtlessly, Yugi began to hum. The notes echoed in unearthly tones, and Atem rushed over to his side. "Yugi, stop!" Atem entreated quickly. Yugi looked up at him.

"Atem, I made sure that I didn't put any power into my voice," Yugi assured. "I've been trying to learn how to control it. You didn't feel anything, did you?"

"I didn't, no, but that's not why I'm so worried," Atem said. "Though your song won't have any adverse effects on the crew, everyone who knows a siren's call will be able to recognize the sound of it, and that you cannot control. These are sailors, Yugi. If they discover you're a siren, they could kill you."

"Oh," Yugi said, now slightly subdued. "Sorry. I was just trying to find a way to be a little more normal, that's all."

"It's great that you're practicing, Yugi. By all means, continue," Atem encouraged. "Most people won't be able to recognize a siren's voice, however unique." He gave Yugi a friendly smile, and Yugi smiled back.

Suddenly Yugi began to hum again. But he was humming much, much more loudly, and it was clearer than before. "Yugi—" Atem began.

"It's not me," Yugi answered. The crew began to panic and run around. Some sailors fled to the lower cabins, other shoved pieces of soft wax into their ears to protect themselves from the alluring song. Some men reacted too slowly and dove headfirst into the water to be slaughtered.

Atem grabbed Yugi's hand. "Yugi, come on," Atem pleaded. But the sirens' song changed abruptly from an enticing melody to a fearsome series of shrieks—the call for sirens to feed. Yugi suddenly became possessed by the desire to join them and fought against Atem ferociously.

Yugi kicked and thrashed against Atem's iron grip. "Yugi, you don't want to do this," Atem reasoned. "They are not your family. Stop—fighting!" Atem was just about to win and drag Yugi down into the cabins, but then Yugi opened his mouth and released an ear-piercing screech that could have easily shattered glass.

Before Atem could think, he let go of Yugi to cover his ears. Yugi took that opportunity to run away and jump overboard. Atem, regardless of the pain still throbbing in his head and ears, rushed after him. "Yugi!" Atem yelled as the school of sirens swam off with their prey. "Yugi!"

* * *

The ship docked at Hayden Island. Atem hardly had the heart to get off the boat to finish his task. Yugi had gone over to his dark side. He had followed his fellow sirens into the water to join them in their feast. He had probably already tasted human flesh.

Iris had obviously known this was going to happen. This must have been a perverse fulfillment of her experiment. Now she would know that her transmutation was complete. Yugi had inherited the siren's nature as well as their form.

Atem walked slowly onto the soil and barely felt the flecks of snow that were falling on him and coating his brows and lashes with a thick film of sparkling frost. How could he return to Domino and tell the others that he had lost Yugi? How could he tell them that he had given up? How could he admit that he had selfishly pursued his own desire to return home and left Yugi here to continue whatever evil act his school would lead him to next?

He shuffled over to another empty shore and sat down on the snowy beach. Yugi was out there somewhere, and if Atem had to search forever, he would get Yugi back and return him to lucidity.

Atem stood up and turned to go when the sound of a sea creature in agony stopped him. He spun around. Yugi was floating in the gray water, heaving dry sobs. His wails of sadness were as unearthly as his song—it stung Atem's heart and pained him more than he thought possible.

Atem rushed out into the water, barely feeling the stinging cold. He was weeping freely, feeling such sadness that it filled his entire being. Atem could not remember ever feeling this wretched, not ever. He felt as though he would die feeling this way. He swam as quickly as he could up to Yugi and pulled him close, trying desperately to keep him from crying.

His feet brushed against Yugi's cerulean fins as he swam slowly back to shore. He was shedding both his tears and Yugi's. Yugi tried to explain himself, tried to tell Atem everything, but all that came out was pain-filled whale sounds. He remembered that he needed to transform to speak, but he didn't have the mental strength to do so. So he sank onto the wet sand, the water now too shallow for him to float.

Atem hugged Yugi and thought of nothing but consoling him. They sat there for what seemed like hours until Atem had turned blue and they were both covered in snow. Yugi then managed to will himself back to human shape. "Y-you're going to g-get sick," he said.

"I don't care," Atem said. "You're back; that's all that matters."

"I… I…" Yugi could barely make the words come out. "I did something bad. I… I did… I…" He touched his mouth and began to weep again. Yugi had eaten human flesh, something he'd never imagined he'd do. Finally, he'd become what he had feared to be. Finally, he had become a monster.


	7. A Crying Shame

"Come on, Yugi," Atem said. He tugged on Yugi's arm, but his friend wouldn't budge. "Yugi, please get up. It's no use to just sit on the ground like that. We need to get that snowflower and get back to Iris's castle."

"I shouldn't go anywhere," Yugi replied dejectedly. "I don't deserve to be around human company. I don't deserve anything."

"Yugi, don't say that!" Atem said, grabbing Yugi by the shoulders. "This was not your fault. You did not kill those men. You did not even want to kill those men. You were merely fulfilling a biological instinct that you could not control. Next time we will be more careful, all right?"

"I'm a monster…" Yugi said softly, not seeming to hear anything that Atem said. "I knew it would happen, I knew it…"

Atem coughed into his sleeve. His wet clothes had frozen stiffly around his cold body, making him ever colder. First his fingernails had turned purple-blue, and then his hands had become a mottled combination of fuchsia and ivory. He felt terrible, and standing here trying to convince Yugi to come out of his depression wasn't helping.

"Yugi," Atem began sternly. "Get up." Yugi did not move. "Yugi, get up," Atem said again. "Get up."

"No," Yugi argued. "Go on without me. I'm no use to anyone anymore."

Atem seized Yugi and pulled the light boy forcefully to his feet. "Yugi, you will not just sit here and stew over what happened. You will come with me and help me to get a snowflower, and then you will return to Iris's castle so that we can finish our third task and be done with this. Then you will go back to Domino and continue with your life. Do you understand?"

"I can't go back. I can't go back with all of the humans, knowing the danger I'd put them in," Yugi said. "What if I hurt the others? What if I hurt you?"

"You won't," Atem said, sighing. "Yugi, the only reason that you did this in the first place was because of the song the sirens sang after the sailors jumped into the water. It is the only siren song that affects the others of its kind, as far as anyone knows. But if those sirens had not been there, you wouldn't have jumped into the water and tried to kill and eat a man. In Domino, you won't have to worry about such things. You will be safe, I promise."

Hesitantly, Yugi nodded. "Atem, I don't want to go near the ocean anymore," he said quietly.

"I understand," Atem said. "But for now, we need to get the snowflower and sail back to Iris's island. We'll stay below deck; it will be fine."

Atem started to walk toward the large building that he saw in the distance, and Yugi obediently trudged along after him. Atem shook suddenly and coughed into his damp, half-frozen sleeve. Yugi looked concerned. "Are you okay?" he asked. Yugi wasn't even showing signs of cold.

"I'm… fine," Atem replied, although his breathing was getting a little strained. They walked into the courtyard of the temple. The entire thing was made of dark blue stone, intricately engraved and speckled with snowflakes. Tall statues of robed women held perpetually burning torches to light the long, cavernous hallways.

"Do you think that the snowflower is here?" Atem asked. Yugi shrugged. "This place is pretty big. How about we split up to go search?"

"That's fine," Yugi said. He was about to walk away when Atem put his hand on Yugi's shoulder to stop him.

"Make sure to come back," Atem said seriously. Yugi fixed his sad eyes on Atem and nodded solemnly. "All right. The snowflower looks somewhat like an ice sculpture of a rose. We'll meet back here afterwards."

They walked off, Atem taking the west corridor, Yugi taking the hallway to the north. Yugi shuffled along, barely looking around for this snowflower. When he returned to Domino, he could be causing a danger to his friends if he even came near the ocean. He would travel only by plane, transform monthly confined to the bathtub. He would never go to the beach. He would take every precaution that he needed to.

But Yugi knew that something was different now. He had tasted human flesh, sucked the fresh blood in through his gills like cigarette smoke. He had tasted it and not hated it. He had tasted it and loved it. Would anything else ever taste the same? Or would he crave that salty and sour meat forever, like he hatefully craved it even now? The experience had changed him. Yugi didn't know if the change would be permanent.

There was a bowl of half-frozen water on a pedestal in the corner. Yugi bent over it. He would have drowned himself in it if he could have, he felt so guilt-ridden. He was a murderer. He was a monster. Creatures like him were killed or locked away because they had done the things that he had done. Did it matter that this conscious part of him did not want to do it? It wouldn't stop him from doing it again under the same circumstances.

The water in the bowl suddenly reverberated. Yugi looked around. Had something fallen? The water shook again, and it continued to shake at regular intervals. The noise of heavy footfalls grew louder and louder. The great creature that was approaching Yugi turned the corner and set his fierce, glowing yellow eyes on the young siren.

Atem heard someone scream. He took off in the direction of the cry, listening to the sounds of panicked shouts and violent destruction as he ran down the shaking hallway. He turned and looked out into the courtyard. A gigantic and hairy creature mercilessly pursued Yugi, who was scrambling away from the monster. The creature swiped one of its claws and rained debris all around the boy, who covered his head and sank to the ground.

"Yugi!" Atem yelled. The monster heard the new voice and smelled the new scent. There was a new prey about. It wasn't a siren like it usually was. This one was a human. The creature gave an ear-splitting roar and leaped in Atem's direction. Atem deftly dodge-rolled to the side and avoided another shower of pillar-bits.

Yugi shrunk away, feeling conflicting emotions of fear of the creature and concern for Atem. "Besides," the evil part of Yugi said, "if Atem dies, you can return to your true home and be what you were made to be…"

Yugi rejected this increasingly louder voice and ran towards Atem, who was now wheezing as he spent his effortful breath avoiding the monster's assaults. He covered his friend's ears with his hands, opened his mouth, and let out a shriek that was so loud and powerful and painfully high-pitched that it shattered the glass of the temple's windows.

The creature rebounded and clutched his large, pointed ears but could not cover them enough to block out the horrible sound of Yugi's siren screech. Blood poured out of its ears as its eardrums burst, and it passed out onto the ground from the pain with a reverberating boom.

Yugi took his hands off Atem's ears and took long, deep breaths. He had never screamed for so long in his life. His throat hurt. But Atem was not faring much better. He was still trying to catch his breath from his short burst of activity. His breath was grating and he clutched his chest. "Nice… work… Yugi…" he panted. "Second time… you saved our life…"

"Atem, you're not all right," Yugi stated.

Atem shook his head stubbornly. "Just tired," he replied. "We haven't found… the flower yet… We have to find it… before this behemoth wakes back up… if it's even in here."

Yugi knew that Atem was sick, and he was fairly sure that it was his fault, too. Atem would never have trudged into that below-freezing water if it hadn't been for him. It was just another thing that he had ruined. "Did you find anything when you were walking? Like a garden or something?"

"No garden… but… I saw the entrance to a church before I heard you," Atem answered. "Strange that something like that… would be in a place like this. The flower could be inside."

Yugi nodded, and then started walking—slowly—toward the corridor that Atem had run from. Great stone doors lay open, revealing two rows of pews and a pulpit surrounded by cracked rock and bare ground. Small clumps of arctic grass grew up in the cracks, along with a few glistening flowers that seemed as though they had been cut from ice.

"Found it," Yugi declared. He walked over and plucked the snowflower from the ground. "Is it going to melt once we take it back to the island?" he asked.

"No," Atem said. He had recovered his breath, but he still looked unwell. "It's just a flower. It only looks as though it's made of ice."

Yugi twirled it between his fingers. It was cold. Atem watched him patiently, knowing why Yugi was stalling. He did not want to return to the boat and risk the lives of the crew again. Who knew if the crew would even let him on board, now that they had discovered what he was. In any other case, Atem probably would have fought them all off, left them stranded on the island, and sailed back to Iris's island by himself (at least this is how Yugi pictured it). But now, thanks to Yugi, Atem was sick and could barely jog, much less conquer fifty strong sailors.

"Yugi," Atem said quietly. Yugi did not look at him. "Are you ready to go?" Yugi did not answer, and Atem sighed. "Yugi, will you ever be ready to go?"

"I don't want to go back," Yugi admitted, tears forming in his eyes. "Atem… you don't understand. I… I did something terrible. I shouldn't come back. I don't want you and the others to look at me and remember what I've done…"

"You think that I don't understand what it's like to do something terrible?" Atem asked accusingly. "You think that I can't relate with you? I know exactly what it's like to feel more guilt than you think that you can handle. I know what it's like to feel like you don't deserve anyone's love, like you don't deserve forgiveness. I know this feeling much more than you do, Yugi."

"What do you mean?" Yugi demanded.

"I played the Seal of Orichalcos of my own free will and sacrificed your soul, Yugi," Atem explained bitterly. "I knew the consequences and I knew the danger and I still played it, although it endangered my best friend in the world. You cannot compare what you did to that, Yugi. You still do not know true guilt."

"B-but… but I…"

"No part of what you did was truly your fault and you know it," Atem said. "It is done. If you want forgiveness, I give it to you freely. If you want love, it's yours. But if you want me to just let you wallow in self-pity, I'm not going to do that. Now let's get back on the boat and take care of our last task so that we can get out of here."

Atem shivered and extended a blue-tinged hand. Yugi took it silently, and then he realized that he felt guilty for feeling guilty.


	8. The Siren's Last Song

Siren Song comes to a close. I'd like to thank **Alex Fisher, Rebellious Demon, Suma Amoru, dragonlady222, Deviousdragon, atem4ever, S13 and A15 Phoenix** (how many accounts do you _have?_­)**, lady Alexas, Shamise, x0xDigiFanx0x, Ara Goddess of the Broken, Black Magic2, Panguins-in-American-Oh-my, **and **potter-me-** for all of your amazingly encouraging support. I really owe you guys for keeping up my spirits; your reviews and favorites and alerts cheered me when I was down.

* * *

Yugi scrambled hurriedly off the boat, thankful that he had crossed that long expanse of siren-infested water without further incident. He still had his hands tied behind his back and a gag in his mouth from when the crew had bound him. Yes, the sailors had agreed to take him with them, but Yugi had to be restrained and muzzled for the entire trip. Atem had reluctantly consented, and was now walking slowly off the boat, taking shallow breaths to ease the pain in his chest.

Atem undid Yugi's bonds, and Yugi rubbed his tender wrists. He knew that Atem was very sick and would have to be off his feet for several days if he wanted to be at his maximum level of health.

It was pneumonia. The persistent coughs, chest pain, bluish skin, and growing fever gave that away. Some people with pneumonia needed to be hospitalized. Some did not survive. Regardless of Atem's hard-headed insistence that he could never get sick, a long week of rest and fluids were in store for him. Iris's third task would have to wait.

Another week with Iris was not a happy proposition. They both regretted that they wouldn't be able to go home as quickly as they thought. Still, it was better than Atem dropping dead in the middle of another insane mission.

But when they returned to the castle after a long walk, they found that something was different. Every door was open. Ledrius, who usually waited on them hand and foot (perhaps in atonement for bringing them there in the first place), was nowhere to be seen. The scene was unnaturally quiet.

Atem put his hand on Yugi shoulder, signifying that he, too, sensed that something was not right in Iris's castle. They tip-toed cautiously through the hallways, peeking around corners to see if someone was there. Slowly, they walked up to Iris's private room at the top of the building and found that this door was also ajar.

When they stepped inside, Yugi and Atem found themselves looking at… Yugi. He was standing over an unconscious Iris with an observant and detached look on his face. Yugi's imposter suddenly noticed they were there. "My friends," he said softly. "It's all right. You can go home now."

"Who are you?" Atem demanded. He broke into a bout of violent coughs. The other Yugi frowned and shook his head.

"It's cold on Hayden Island," he said. "She should never have sent you there. She knew the dangers. All… of the dangers." He looked knowingly at the real Yugi.

"Answer his question!" Yugi said. "Who are you? What did you do to Iris?"

The other Yugi's form shifted suddenly. All at once, a tall, red-haired woman stood in his place. She looked amazingly similar to Iris, but her skin was not quite so pale. "My name is Dawn," she said. Her voice was deep and smooth. "I am Iris's older sister." She stooped down as Atem and Yugi gaped at her and plucked something from Iris's pocket. "My sister did not deserve this heirloom. She has done far too much damage with it," Dawn noted.

There was a black ring in her hand. She tucked it into her breast. "That is the Spirit of the North," Atem said breathlessly. Dawn nodded.

"It belonged to our mother, and her mother before her, and her mother before her, and so on. When Mother died, I was meant to get this ring, but Mother's will has mysteriously instructed that it be given to Iris. I suppose it was because both of them had a passion for breaking the rules for their own means. They could relate to each other. And I, who truly deserved this ring of amazing power, received nothing. It was utterly unfair, and more so when I discovered that she was using this power to torture an innocent boy."

Yugi blushed. Dawn glanced at him. "Young man, I do not know who you are, but I know that you have suffered at the hand of my blood-kin and I am very sorry. I am adept in illusion magic, and thus I took your form to surprise my sister. I wish to tell you that she would never have cured you. This is what I learned while in your body."

"Why are you telling me this?" Yugi asked her. She walked up to him and bent over so that they could speak at eye-level.

"Because I shall," she said. "With the power of the Spirit of the North which rightfully belongs to me, I shall undo the horrible crime that has been done to you. I cannot and will not erase your memory of your experiences, but I will make sure that the rest of your life is more pleasant."

"You mean… I'll be a normal kid again?" Yugi asked. He was trying to conceal his hope, his desperate desire to not be a burden to the people he loved. If this woman was not to be trusted, if Dawn disappointed him, it would be more than his heart could handle. But she nodded and smiled gently.

"By the power vested in me by the Spirit of the North and the magical blood of my ancestry," Dawn said, "I release you from your curse and return you to your rightful form."

A sickly green light surrounded Yugi, and then it little-by-little disappeared. Yugi reached under his shirt and touched his ribs. They were gone, Yugi realized. His gills were gone. Yugi laughed and almost cried for joy. Atem smiled and celebrated with him, but there was no time for unadulterated happiness yet.

"Dawn," Atem said. "What will you do with your sister? I doubt that she will ever stop seeking the ring. Besides that, she has broken magician's law. Yet I doubt that a normal prison contain her with her immense magical power."

"You forget, pharaoh, that a great deal of that power came from her ring," Dawn said. "But I will not send her to that place. Lawless or not, she is still my family, and I could do nothing to cause her harm."

Yugi glanced at Iris, who was sprawled on the ground, and somehow doubted that. "I will take care of her. You have your own things to fret about," Dawn continued. "How you are to return home, for one." And at her words, the two boys were transported back to the intersection in the street in Domino, where Yugi had wept on the way back home.

* * *

It was Monday evening. The sun was setting, and Yugi was sitting and idly playing Sudoku on his computer. He knew that this was full moon. He also knew that he didn't have to worry about that anymore.

It was such an amazing relief, such a fantastic weight off his shoulders. No gills, no sudden transformations. No underlying fear that someone was going to discover him, lock him away, and conduct even more horrifying experiments on him. No going down to the beach and lying on the bottom of the ocean, waiting for the sun to rise. No. Tonight it was just him and his Sudoku.

The others had been angry that he hadn't told them his secret. It was understandable. They and Yugi were supposed to be the best of friends—why had Yugi kept this important part of himself from them? It was not due to a lack of trust. If he was going to trust anyone in his life, it would be his friends. Shame drove him to secrecy, shame and embarrassment and denial. He had hated himself and what he was. He had hated what he could have done to them.

Atem's approval had brought him a little bit out of his shell, but not much. Yugi continued to shy away from his nature. He would have never been truly happy not being human. And he had actually believed that he would not return to his human form for the rest of his life. That's why his humanity was all the sweeter—because it was once considered an impossible joy.

Secretly, Yugi thanked Iris in his heart. If she hadn't kidnapped him and Atem, then Dawn would have never healed him, and he'd still be crying on the bench after school. Even though she was the cause of all of his pain, she was inadvertently the cure as well. It was strange and funny how things like that happened.

Yugi inputted the last digit and leaned back in his desk chair. His siren's song, in all of its beauty and terror, was over.


End file.
